It was the kind of moment that makes the Champions League what it is. Into the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of Paris Saint-Germain’s last 16 clash with Real Madrid and the tie is decided by a moment of sheer brilliance from Kylian Mbappe.
Assisted by Neymar Junior, who had just returned from a significant period out injured, the Frenchman scored a veritable golazo to give PSG a crucial lead ahead of the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu at the beginning of March.
In truth, even though it came at the very death, PSG were good value for the victory. They deserved it. Madrid came to the Parc des Princes and sat deep, refusing to play with the cavalier ambition that we associate with the Spanish giants.
It was PSG who were doing all the attacking and they could have settled the game earlier had Lionel Messi converted his penalty kick. It was Mbappe who earned that, too, drawing a foul from Dani Carvajal. The Frenchman was quite simply unplayable.
Thoughts now turn to the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. “We coaches are optimistic by nature,” PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said in post-match in comments carried by Marca. “But we have to respect Madrid and it’s going to be a difficult game.
“But I’m optimistic we won’t lower our level,” he continued. “This has to be the starting point. We hope to produce these types of performances and you have to find the kind of inner motivation that enables you to hit these heights more often.”
